Blue Lagoon, Frankfurt,& Büchenbeuren

Tonight we are in Büchenbeuren, which is a small village near the "Frankfurt"-Hahn airport. Ordinarily it's an approximately two-hour bus ride from Real Frankfurt--though ours was longer for some reason apparently explained in German while I was sleeping--which David and I used productively to nap. I would wake up occasionally to really gorgeous verdantly pastoral splashes of German countryside, but would be unable to keep my eyes open.

Our adorable tiny hotel, from which I write, is a welcome change after last night's sketchiest of hostels, of which I will only say: I am too old to be insulted by the surly German youth acting as

receptionist AND sleep on a bunk bed in a dorm room with four [large, male] strangers.

(Thankfully the breakfast this morning was genuinely fantastic, with plentiful rolls to top with cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes (or Nutella!); muesli; fruit juices; and unlimited coffee.)

We spent the morning poking around Frankfurt, to which I had never been and which is a striking combination of the very old (or at least remnants thereof, after the bombings they took in the war) and the commercial new.

This weekend was also the big Museum Festival, which we didn't know about before booking our trip, but made our time there even more enjoyable, with long stretches of tents along both sides of the river, selling a variety of food, jewelery, and art.

Ah! But before we even got into Frankfurt yesterday, we spent a really lovely layover in Reykjavic, where we did make it to the Blue Lagoon Spa!

It was a quick and easy bus ride from the airport, and we were both able to rent towels and swim suits to enjoy the thermally-heated, silica-clouded, ice-blue waters of the large pool.

It was a brisk day, so steam rose off the water and especially from a central vent around which bathers concentrated, but didn't get -too- close, to avoid being scalded! There were pots of silica mud to smear and let dry on your face, which tightened and smoothed the skin when it was rinsed off.

After a wonderfully warming and relaxing dip, David and I enjoyed leisurely sandwiches in the cafe and strolled around the volcanic landscape before catching our bus back to the airport. Best layover ever.

Now we're headed to "the next village over," where the local restaurant will apparently come pick us up to dine there. It's an Argentinian steak house, but the menu lists an impressive array of vegetarian sides, so I'm excited about some quasi-authentic German eating! Edit: We just got back, and I am stuffed. They made us these great "mixed plates" of the vegetarian options, which included the best baked potato I've eaten in my life. That sounds silly, but it was amazing!